


The Escort

by chavalah



Series: The District 12 Team [1]
Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 1, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-15 23:35:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3466163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chavalah/pseuds/chavalah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adult members of the team reflect on Katniss and Peeta at specific points during "Catching Fire."</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Escort

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jae/gifts).



> Set during the Victory Tour

Only seven more days until they get to the Capitol. Six. Five. This is how Effie consoles herself as she gets up in the morning, and through her calming hours of putting together her appearance for the day. Who knew that an hour of careful application of rhinestones to her skin could be so soothing? This used to be the tedium that she had to endure in order to get to the main stage, as she calls it, where she mingles with choice people, to be noticed and admired. But who could admire her here? She used to think her onerous trek to District 12 each year for the reaping ceremony to be barely tolerable; weren’t the lower numbers supposed to be in better condition? Why hadn’t any of the other victor escorts warned her of what was to come?

Needless to say, she is looking forward to a well-earned day at the spa once they finally made it to the Capitol. Then she might be able to face some of her formerly more illustrious colleagues with a gleam of triumph. They may have thought they were keeping her down all of these years, failing to promote her, but little did they know that Effie Trinket had something truly special up her sleeve. District 12’s dirty, black coal had finally given way to a two diamonds in the rough.

Not that she hasn’t worked for her success, of course. Every morning as she settles in to the breakfast car with a bright smile, she is met with a sullen expression, at least by Katniss. Peeta often can’t achieve the level of polite conversation that she is used to, either, and Haymitch…well, Haymitch is rarely useful until mid-afternoon. Yet still she persists, the only one on the team mustering up optimism to meet the day—“all right, everyone, first we have speeches, then meetings with District government, then dinner; you know the drill…” It is the same day after day, and she’s even been writing their speeches ever since that regrettable incident in District 11. But they get up in front of those crowds teeming to meet them, and then read her words about their heroic victory and the glory of the Capitol as though they are talking about coal mining. No wonder everyone in the Districts seem so upset all of the time.

But there she is in the background, making small talk where they won’t, fielding interview questions, approving dinner venues with the best ocean, mountain or vineyard views, and getting little but grief from the Peacekeepers for her troubles. Whenever had they become so irritable? She can’t wait to be dealing with Avoxes, back in the Capitol again.

And yet. Sometimes when she looks over at Katniss and Peeta fawning over each other through their wine glasses, her heart softens. Katniss may be prickly but she is brave; Peeta sentimental but loyal. Her heart constricts when she thinks of how many times she nearly lost them in the Games—these children she has grown to care about, and she shakes her head of the consternation. There’s little benefit in dwelling on what cannot be changed, or what is best left alone anyway; far better to focus on their promising future. So, one more day, she tells herself each morning, until her District 12 charges can take their places as the Captiol celebrities that they are meant to be.


End file.
